Overwriting and Underwriting...

So, there are two kinds of writers: underwriters and overwriters. Those who set out to write an 80,000 page novel and come up with 50k, and those who come up with 140k. I am the latter.

Each kind of writer presents themselves with a unique challenge when it comes to the editing stage. Those that underwrite find themselves having to invent completely new plot elements to stretch their story into a proper novel. I almost wish I had this problem. You see, the writing is the fun part of creating a novel. Everything about it is great. The world building, the character arcs, it's all so enjoyable. 

On the other hand, I have overwritten. For my genre, I need to be around 110,000 words, but I'm sitting around 140,000. So, right now my days and evenings are filled with tedious reviews of every word of my novel. Striking redundant uses of the word "that." Culling my adverbs. And now I'm at the hardest part. I'm trying to condense three or four chapters near the midpoint of my novel into one. My beta readers have shown interest in the content of these chapters, but told me they seem to drag. So... that's where I sit right now. What do I keep and what do I ditch? How do I crunch all the info I want in the novel into just the one chapter?

Well... that's where I sit today. If you have any thoughts or questions about The Paladin, feel free to let me know in the comments below. I should have the first three chapters (which aren't part of this condensing conundrum) up soon. Cheers!